Items tagged with Google Drive
Google is getting ready to roll out an update that will ultimately make Google Drive files more secure, but the added peace of mind comes at a cost to Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. Not a financial one mind you (the update is itself is free), but in the form of potentially broken links. The crux of the update is the addition of a resource key to shared links, which will make publicly viewable links more secure. At the same time, it will make those same links inaccessible to people who do not have the key. This could be frustrating if stumbling upon a link in a forum or some place else that has not been updated. There is an exception, though. Anyone...
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We haven't talked much about Google Drive and Google Photo over the last year. When we last spoke of Google Drive in 2017, Google Drive file stream was emerging to replace the Google Drive app for both Mac and PC users. In 2018, Google AR Core left beta and landed for Google Photos for Android and iOS. Google is now talking about changes that it is making to how Google Drive and Google Photos work together. Google knows that lots of people store photos and video on both Google Drive and Google Photos. Google says that users have complained that the connection between Drive and Photos is confusing and to fix that it plans to make changes to simplify the experience across Drive and Photos....
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Just about everyone stores at least some of their personal data in the cloud today. That might be documents you want to access from anywhere, photos you want to protect, or other content you don't want to save locally. Google has announced that it will be offering the revamped Google Drive service known as Google One to everyone around the world. We first talked about Google One in May when it was first announced. The name change wraps in everything that was Google Drive before and adds in some new benefits like more storage for the same money, family sharing capability, and reduced-price bookings at hotels via Google Search. That last benefit is an odd one, but with so many people booking hotels...
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Google is making some changes to its cloud storage offering, which we all have known as Google Drive. In its current form, Google provides all of its customers with 15GB of Google Drive space (for free) that they can use for all of their storage needs. That 15GB free tier isn't changing, but Google is juggling its paid storage options at the lower end. The 100GB plan remains the same, priced at $1.99 per month. However, a new 200GB plan is slotting in at $2.99 per month. The previous 1TB plan, which was priced at $9.99 per month is dead -- it has been doubled to 2TB for the same price. Pricing for the 10TB, 20TB and 30TB plans remain the same at $99.99, $199.99 and $299.99 per month respectively....
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If you are one of the many folks who have the PC or Mac Google Drive app on your desktop for easily sharing and saving files, that software is being deprecated. As of September 26 a new offering called Drive File Stream will be available for all users and will completely replace the Google Drive desktop application. Drive File Stream was launched to early adopters in March and is a new desktop app that gives users fast access to their Google Drive files on demand right from their computer. Google says that will allow you to use virtually none of your local drive space and spend less time waiting for files to sync. Google knows that everyone won't want to use Drive File Stream and it is offering...
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Do you backup your files and photos on a regular basis? Most of us know that we should be backing up our data, but for one reason or another—usually the inconvenience of it all—we don't. That is like playing with fire, especially if you have important files that you either cannot afford to lose, or would strongly prefer you didn't. Well, Google is making things easier with a new app for both PC and Mac systems. It is called Backup and Sync and it works with both Google Drive and Google Photos. This is something Google aimed to release last month but was delayed for some last minute tweaking. It is now ready to download, and with it users can backup and sync just about anything on their storage...
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If you’re looking for a new solution to back up your entire PC or Mac, it looks as though Google is angling to get its foot in the door with a new app. Called Backup and Sync, the app is the latest extension of Google Drive, and will be available for computer running either Windows or macOS. Backup and Sync replaces the existing Google Drive for Windows and Mac, and provides a huge advantage when it comes to functionality. With the current app, your synced files are accessible within the actual Google Drive folder on your computer (and of course online). However, Backup and Sync can monitor any folder on your computer that you select and mirror the contents in the cloud. While you may be able...
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Google has been making strides over the years to make its Gmail application even more versatile for its millions of users. Earlier this week, Gmail for Android gained the ability to send and receive payments via Google Wallet integration. Now, the desktop Gmail interface is able to stream video attachments straight from your browser window. Previously, you were forced to first download a video attachment to your computer and then play it back using your app of choice. Now, however, you will see a thumbnail preview of the video attachment and will be able to stream it directly without going through that intermediary download step. Attachments still have to adhere to Google’s 50MB file limit (this...
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If you are a heavy Plex user, you will be happy to know that a rather intriguing new feature has exited beta and is now available to all Plex Pass Subscribers. Plex Cloud allows you to bypass the use of a local home server for your media storage — which likely has to run 24-7-365 to provide immediate access to your videos, photos and music — in favor of directly streaming from a cloud storage service. In this case, Plex Cloud will allow you to directly interface with your OneDrive (personal), Dropbox or Google Drive accounts. Plex Cloud previously supported Amazon Drive during the beta period, but support was dropped after December 31st. “Unfortunately, the challenges with Amazon Drive have proven...
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You might want to think twice before sharing pirated material through Google Drive. It was recently confirmed that Google Drive warns users when the material they are sharing might violate its terms of service. Previous statements from Google representatives have confirmed that the corporation likely uses hash matching to detect pirated material. What is a hash matching? Hashing transforms a string of characters into a usually shorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string. Hashing is also used in many encryption algorithms. A hash match is when a SQL Server hashes the columns involved in an aggregation or a join in order to match the columns either to each other or...
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Evernote and Google Drive just made a techie baby. Evernote gained Google Drive integration for web and Android app cloud storage. Google Drive is great for storing work while many argue that Evernote is a better organizational tool. Evernote customers requested a better way to combine the work they do in both Evernote and Google Drive. The two companies listened and delivered. Dog Walking Robot Idea not included. Erik Wrobel, Chief Product Officer at Evernote stated, "Evernote is where people capture and nurture ideas. This integration with Google Drive helps people cultivate those ideas with rich context." All the files you keep in Google Drive are now easier to access in Evernote....
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Android M is definitely the biggest takeaway from the first day of Google I/O, but Google also had another trick up its sleeve in the form of a revamped Photos app. The new Photos app makes it easier for you organize your images and videos, tag people, and even search through your impossibly large library using simple text. It also performs automatic backing up of your images and provides easy to use editing and sharing tools. “You can now take any set of photos and videos, or any album, and simply create a link to share hundreds of photos at once,” explains Anil Sabharwal, Head of Google Photos. “The recipient can see what you shared without a special app or login, then immediately save the...
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While it’s not quite the 100GB of free One Drive cloud storage space that Microsoft is giving away if you sign up for Bing Rewards, Google is giving away freebies of its own to commemorate Safer Internet Day. In an effort to ensure that users are protected against hackers and other cyber threats, Google is asking its users to complete its Security Checkup by February 17. The Security Checkup prompts you to verify your account recovery options (email, phone), gives you a listing of recent sign-ins on your account to help you spot any suspicious activity, and allows you to confirm or remove app that have access to your Google account information. In return for completing the Security Checkup, which...
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If you are thinking of purchasing a Chromebook during the holiday season, then now is a good time to do so. Google has sweetened the pot by offering 1TB of free Google Drive cloud storage for two years with the purchase of a new Chromebook.“That’s enough space to keep more than 100,000 awkward holiday sweater pics safe and shareable in Drive,” said Google group product manager Alex Vogenthaler in a blog post. “With that much free storage, you can use your Chromebook for work, play, and pretty much everything else you’ll do this holiday season.”In order to qualify for the free terabyte of Drive storage, a $240 deal according to Google, consumers will need to purchase a new, eligible Chromebook...
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Microsoft announced a new milestone for its online storage service today: SkyDrive now has more than 250 million users. The company is pointing to Windows 8, which launched in the second half of 2012, as playing a key role in the recent rush of user signups. Microsoft took the opportunity to highlight important changes, such as better uploading speeds, a revamped iOS app, and making SkyDrive the default save location for Microsoft Office. Microsoft released a timeline of SkyDrive's evolution. Image Credit: Microsoft Although 250 million users is noteworthy, there’s plenty of room to grow: more than 700 million people have Microsoft accounts. What are they using, if not SkyDrive? Aside from...
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For the past few years, Google has been pushing the idea of Chrome OS and the Chromebook. The idea is simple: Shift your data into the cloud, carry a tiny device that connects to all your online information, and let Google worry about the heavy lifting. Less discussed is the question of what happens if Google decides you've violated its Terms of Service and shuts down your account. That's what happened to Slate contributor Tienlon Ho, and the aftermath wasn't pretty. Google's notification included no specific details on why his account had been closed. He'd lost access to all of his data, including files stored on Google Drive, email, and shared documents. Tienlon goes on to note that Google's...
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Having trouble sending or receiving email on your Gmail account today? Don't bother tinkering with your account settings, the problem probably isn't on your end, not unless your issues manifested immediately following any changes you might have made. Otherwise, point the finger at Google, which has acknowledged that some of its online services are suffering disruptions today. Google began investigating reports of an issue with Gmail at 8:58 AM EST this morning. Nine minutes later, the search giant said it was still looking into the service disruption, adding that it's affecting less than 0.007 percent of all Gmail users. The latest update came at 9:51 AM, in which Google stated it has restored...
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I've often wondered what would happen if Google day decided to call it quits and pulled the plug on all of its services. Could you imagine what kind of disruption that would cause? The truth is, many of us have come to rely pretty heavily on Google's services, so even just simple (and temporary) outages sometimes hit users hard. Users on several continents got a taste of what's that like on Monday when Google suffered "service disruptions" affecting Gmail and Google Drive, Reuters reports. Both had gone dark for a period of time, though it's unclear exactly how many users were affected. What it would look like if Google suddenly shut down its services. "We are currently experience an issue with...
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